Category Archives: Christianity

Aphorism: On Christian Charity

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By Madison S. Hughes (05.01.2012)

Churches in general and the Catholic Church in particular, are nothing more than organized tribal cults. They give to their respective tribes, as would any primal tribe; however, these modern-day mendicants mooch off of their secular brethren through tax-exemptions and other Christian privileges purposefully to give back to their primal tribes. They give not out of a sense of compassion to their fellow human beings, but out of a sense of community to their fellow limited and literal-minded tribe members.

Highly Religious People Are Less Motivated by Compassion Than Are Non-Believers

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“Love thy neighbor” is preached from many a pulpit. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the highly religious are less motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people.

[…]

In the study, the link between compassion and generosity was found to be stronger for those who identified as being non-religious or less religious.

“Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study. “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”

[…]

“Overall, this research suggests that although less religious people tend to be less trusted in the U.S., when feeling compassionate, they may actually be more inclined to help their fellow citizens than more religious people,” Willer said.

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To a Theist Parent, from an Atheist Child

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As Seen On: Friendly Atheist

This is a poem I wrote for my mom who is a Christian. I wrote it about a week after I told her I was bi and she expressed her bigoted view on the subject. I read it to her already, but it still didn’t affect her in any way. I figured I may not be the only one out there that has this problem, so maybe this would help someone else. Feel free to share with anyone you think this would help. . . . If you can’t understand the poem [the lyrics may be found here by clicking “Show more” below the video].

Recognizing Bigotry

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Consider the following statement for a moment:

“I would not vote for a man who was Black.”

Aside from a handful of teabaggers, I suspect that most people would recognize this statement as bigotry. Why? The statement implies that all people who belong to the specified category (i.e., Black) are unfit to hold office simply because of their membership in this category. Since the category is irrelevant to this judgment, we have both a falsehood and an unwarranted generalization. This is bigotry, and most people correctly identify it as such.

Now let’s examine the actual quote from the Rev. Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz:

“I would not vote for a man who was atheist.”

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